George Russell bemoaned the lack of teamwork among the Mercedes drivers, while Lewis Hamilton dismissed another request with a laugh.
During a miserable Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t contain his laughter when Mercedes asked him to pick up the pace.
Both Mercedes drivers got great launches off the line to make up places early on. But, just like in the Sprint the day before, tyre degradation proved to be a major factor and it affected the Silver Arrows more than most.
George Russell had initially said he would not attack his team-mate and suggested they should work together in the opening stages. But it seemed Hamilton did not get the memo as he pulled out of DRS range, leaving his team-mate exposed.
And his move had not improved by the 17th lap when he was asked to manage his tyres. “Do you want me to race or concede positions? With more management, I will go backwards,” was his snappy retort.
And later, when he came across Hamilton on track who was going more slowly, he waited patiently behind while Carlos Sainz caught up. He then broke his silence to say: “I haven’t been on the radio because I thought it was quite obvious about the pace. Just sat here, not having the tyres.”
He clearly thought he should have been allowed past. And the Ferrari ended up ahead of both of them again as Mercedes continued to slip back in the order.
The moment that tickled Hamilton came ahead of the second round of pit stops. Preparing to bring the seven-time world champion in for fresh rubber, race engineer Pete Bonnington asked his driver to push hard and squeeze all remaining life out of his current set.
“”Let’s use the tyres now,” Bono said, evoking a laugh and a curt reply from Hamilton. “I have been for the last five laps, dude,” he answered, obviously finding it difficult to get his car to go at the desired speed.
Pierre Gasly later passed Hamilton, who later finished eighth. Russell didn’t even get a checkered flag; instead, he was forced to retire just before the finish line due to high oil temperatures, which Mercedes claimed were increasing the likelihood of an engine failure.